The hydrogen sulfide content of some naturally occurring gases, synthesis gases process gases, and fuel gases produced by gasification procedures, e.g., gases produced by the gasification of coal, petroleum, shale, tar sands, etc., is often at environmentally unacceptable levels. In order to meet increasingly stringent total sulfur content requirements, effective procedures for removal of this contaminant from these "sour" gases are necessary.
One problem associated with the absorption removal of H.sub.2 S from such streams is that the gases mentioned also commonly contain significant amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons which also tend to be absorbed. Obviously, the removal of these materials with H.sub.2 S poses problems which must be solved in further treatment steps. For example, the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons causes discoloration of the sulfur which may be produced in any sulfur recovery step. Again, if the aromatic hydrocarbons are not recovered, a valuable material is wasted. Accordingly, there exists a genuine need for an economical method for removal of H.sub.2 S and aromatic hydrocarbons from desired gaseous streams which avoids these problems and disadvantages.